54 . FIRES OF ST JOHN. 
' Thus the whole island may be considered as a fo- 
rest of laurels, arbutuses, and pines, of which the ex- 
ternal margin only has been in some measure cleared, 
while the central part consists of a rocky and steril 
soil, unfit even for pasturage. 
The following day was passed by our travellers 
in visiting the neighbourhood of Orotava, and en- 
joying an agreeable company at Mr Cologan’s. On 
the eve of St John, they were present at a pasto- 
ral féte in the garden of Mr Little, who had re- 
duced to cultivation a hill covered with voleanic sub- 
stances, from which there is a magnificent view of 
the Peak, the villages along the coast, and the isle of — 
Palma. Early in the evening, the voleano sud- 
denly exhibited a most extraordinary spectacle, the 
shepherds having, in conformity to ancient custom, 
lighted the fires of St John ; the scattered masses of 
which, with the columns of smoke driven by the 
wind, formed a fine contrast to the deep verdure 
of the woods that covered the sides of the moun- 
tain, while the silence of nature was broken at in- 
tervals by the shouts of joy which came from afar. 
